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Tuesday, 30 September 2014

September 29, 2014
Landowners briefed on Fukushima waste storage plan
Landowners near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have voiced
frustration at the government's plan to buy up their properties to build
intermediate storage facilities for radioactive soil and other waste.

About 150 people took part in an Environment Ministry briefing on
Monday. It was the first in a series of sessions aimed at outlining
compensation plans for landowners in Futaba and Okuma towns.

The move comes as the Fukushima prefectural government earlier accepted construction of storage facilities in the 2 towns.

Ministry officials said they plan to purchase land at around half of its value before the nuclear accident.
The officials said compensation for housing would depend on the age of
buildings. They said landowners who decline to sell but allow usage of
their plots would be paid 70 percent of the purchase price.

They said the prefecture would effectively cover the difference between
the properties' pre-disaster value and the amount of compensation.

Many landowners expressed their reservations.

A man from Futaba Town said the offered price fell short of what he
expected, and that the officials spoke about the possibility of forcibly
buying up land. He predicted that upcoming briefings would be rough.

A woman from Okuma Town said government officials seemed to care little
about the feelings of people who will be deprived of their land.

The government wants to win landowners' understanding, and start shipping contaminated waste to the storage facilities in January.

The number of hospitals locally “designated” to treat radiation
exposure has grown to 201 from 83 before the Fukushima nuclear disaster,
a survey says.
But the survey, conducted by Kyodo News, also showed that the so-called designated hospitals, as of August, were still
struggling with shortages of skilled personnel and equipment as central
government pushes to restart dozens of idled reactors, many of them
old.
The hospitals were designated by local governments
as medical institutions that will provide emergency treatment for
radiation exposure if nuclear accidents occur. But there are no requirements for receiving the designation — including number of doctors specialized in radiation treatment.
This
step was advised through a report compiled by the now-defunct Nuclear
Safety Commission after the deadly 1999 criticality accident at a
uranium-processing plant in the village of Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture.
The
Nuclear Regulation Authority is reviewing medical preparedness for
nuclear disasters as part of a package of initiatives introduced in
response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster but has not hammered out any
specifics.
The survey was conducted from July to September, 15
years after the criticality accident at JCO Co. in Tokai on Sept. 30,
1999, which killed two people.
Responses were received from all 24 prefectural governments selected for their proximity to nuclear facilities.
Source: Japan Times
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/29/national/science-health/japan-more-than-doubles-the-number-of-hospitals-designated-as-radiation-treatment-centers/#.VCkUkBanp1s

Sep 30, 2014 TOKAI, IBARAKI PREF. – The Fukushima
nuclear disaster reflects a failure by the government to learn from
Japan’s first deadly nuclear accident 15 years ago in Tokai, Ibaraki
Prefecture, according to the village’s former mayor.
Speaking to around 350 people at a public meeting there Sunday,
Tatsuya Murakami said the nation glossed over the Tokai disaster and
upheld a “myth” about the safety of nuclear power.
“Japan was caught up in a safety myth, that a serious nuclear accident would not happen in this country,” he said.
The accident at a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in the village occurred on Sept. 30, 1999. It left two people dead.
He said the safety myth and failure to clarify exactly why the
accident took place led to mistakes that resulted in the Fukushima
debacle.
The accident in Tokai, about 130 km northeast of Tokyo, killed two
employees of operator JCO Co. and exposed more than 600 residents to
radiation. The critical state lasted around 20 hours, through the next
day.
Six JCO employees and the company itself were faulted for the
accident. Workers using buckets had poured too much uranium solution
into a processing tank, which led to a nuclear fission chain reaction.
Focusing on the use of buckets and calling it “an unexpected
problem,” the government and the nuclear industry placed the
responsibility for the accident solely on JCO.
The former mayor said what officials should have done was “determine the problems of a nuclear-dependent society as a whole.”
Murakami stepped down as mayor a year ago after 16 years in office
and now works as a co-representative of Mayors for a Nuclear Free Japan,
a body that comprises nearly 100 former and current mayors who campaign
to phase out nuclear power.
When the Tokai accident occurred, the local and central governments
seemed unable to take the lead in responding. Murakami stepped in,
taking a unilateral decision to evacuate residents within 350 meters of
the JCO compound.
After the Fukushima disaster, the then-government of the Democratic
Party of Japan declared that the nation would aim to phase out nuclear
power by 2040.
But the current government, under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of the
Liberal Democratic Party, decided this year to support the continued use
of nuclear power and upheld commitment to the nation’s spent-fuel
recycling projects.
“To some extent, the DPJ government was reflecting public opinion.
But the Abe government has refused to hear what the people say,”
Murakami said. “In such circumstances I fear another nuclear disaster
may happen.”

Another speaker addressing the meeting was Keiko Oizumi, a former
worker at a factory near the JCO plant. She and her husband filed for
compensation against JCO and parent company Sumitomo Mining Co. for
damage to their health, but in 2010 the Supreme Court threw the case
out.
Oizumi spoke of how she sometimes gets to meet evacuees from
Fukushima. She also described how she still sees mental-health
specialists.
“I have suffered general malaise, depression, sleeplessness and other
symptoms, and I still see psychiatrists,” Oizumi said. “I always think I
could have lived a normal life if it were not for nuclear power. . . .
The JCO accident completely changed my life.”
She said she feels the pain of Fukushima evacuees as her own.
“People do not bleed if they are exposed to radiation, but they bleed in their hearts,” she said.
Oizumi urged supporters to take their demands to those in power.
“We should not accept reactor restarts,” she said. “Now is our only chance to terminate nuclear power.”
Source: Japan Times
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/30/national/former-tokai-mayor-says-japan-sleep-walking-toward-nuclear-disasters/

Three Chiba cities will store radioactive waste if state fails to build final disposal site, NHK sayshttp://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/01/national/three-chiba-cities-will-store-radioactive-waste-state-fails-build-final-disposal-site-nhk-says/

Tepco “570 kg of debris dropped on 10 fuel assemblies in SFP3, can’t see the fuel but everything is ok”http://fukushima-diary.com/2014/09/tepco-570-kg-debris-dropped-10-fuel-assemblies-sfp3-cant-see-fuel-everything-ok-video/

TEPCO coating seafloor at Fukushima port with special cement mixturehttp://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201409030043

Fukushima Workers Who Fled May Have Received Garbled Orders, Reports Sayhttp://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/04/world/asia/fukushima-workers-who-fled-may-have-received-garbled-orders-reports-say.html?_r=0&referrer

Fukushima nuclear
material reported in West Coast groundwater; It’s discharging into
Pacific Ocean — Fallout also found in meat and fish from same area —
“Routinely detected’ in plant life long after March 2011http://enenews.com/fukushima-nuclear-material-reported-west-coast-groundwater-being-discharged-pacific-ocean-fallout-detected-meat-fish

19-Year-Old Fukushima Woman Says, “Please Let Me Be the One to Decide on My Own Life.”http://fukushimavoice-eng2.blogspot.fr/2014/09/19-year-old-fukushima-woman-says-please.html

New METI chief Obuchi rules out new nuclear power plantshttp://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/04/national/new-meti-chief-obuchi-rules-new-nuclear-power-plants/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-meti-chief-obuchi-rules-new-nuclear-power-plants

Radioactive water leaking from Fukushima tankhttp://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html

Tsuruga #2 Reactor To Never Restarthttp://www.fukuleaks.org/web/?p=13748

Tritium Filtration To Be Tested For Fukushima Daiichihttp://www.fukuleaks.org/web/?p=13745

Kepco may scrap two aging reactors over upgrade costshttp://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/05/national/kepco-may-scrap-two-aging-reactors-over-upgrade-costs/#.VAoR3WRdXC4

Japan to push for closure of ageing nuclear reactors: Nikkeihttp://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/east-asia/story/japan-push-closure-ageing-nuclear-reactors-nikkei-20140905

Toride city of Ibaraki decided to give lecture by the experts instead of thyroid inspection not to spread fearhttp://fukushima-diary.com/2014/09/toride-city-ibaraki-decided-give-lecture-experts-instead-thyroid-inspection-spread-fear/

IAEA, Japan to Conduct Joint Water Sampling in Fukushimahttp://en.ria.ru/world/20140905/192677507/IAEA-Japan-to-Conduct-Joint-Water-Sampling-in-Fukushima.html

It was all over within hours certainly by 19th March, no power, no cooling, no containment.http://dunrenard.wordpress.com/2014/09/06/it-was-all-over-within-hours-certainly-by-19th-march-no-power-no-cooling-no-containment/

726 among 39 children in Ushiku city Ibaraki given “A2, B” results in thyroid inspectionhttp://fukushima-diary.com/2014/09/26-among-39-children-ushiku-city-ibaraki-given-a2-b-results-thyroid-inspection/Two trillion becquerels of radioactive material may have escaped No. 1http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/07/national/two-trillion-becquerels-radioactive-material-may-escaped-1/

40-Year-Old Minister
of Economy Declares "Contaminated Water Is Under Control", and "Effect
of Radioactive Materials Is Completely Blocked" at #Fukushima I
NPP http://ex-skf.blogspot.fr/2014/09/40-year-old-minister-of-economy.html

Senior Scientist:
Fukushima reactors like Swiss cheese; No one knows how far melted
nuclear fuel has spread — Newspaper: Highly radioactive water thought to
be coming up from ground and directly into open ocean, bypassing plant’s
bay; ‘Other substances’ making contamination more serioushttp://enenews.com/senior-scientist-melted-cores-damaged-containments-theyre-leaking-like-swiss-cheese-fukushima-one-nuclear-fuel-spread-paper-other-substances-flowing-ocean-making-contamination-serious-highly-radioa

EPA
on Fukushima: “Modeling indicates greater potential impact to US coastal
areas from precipitation than from transport” in ocean — California sea
water exceeded 10,000,000 picocuries per cubic meter of iodine-131 in
sample squeezed out of radioactive kelphttp://enenews.com/epa-fukushima-releases-greater-potential-impact-coastal-areas-precipitation-transport-ocean-california-sea-water-exceeded-10000000-picocuries-cubic-meter-sample-squeezed-radioactive-kelp

Japanese regulator caves to the nuclear industry and government pressure –but still no restart for Sendai http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/nuclear-reaction/Sendai-reactor-restart/blog/50534/

Can Occupiers of Anti-Nuke Tent Village Break Down METI of Japan?http://www.absurdity.asia/?p=28

Secret Fukushima
Testimony Revealed: Plant chief considered “disemboweling himself” after
explosions… “I should kill myself” — Smoke seen at No. 3 reactor before
blast, “I figured this was the end of plant” — At start of crisis “I was
in despair… panicking… I could not afford to logically think”http://enenews.com/secret-testimony-reveals-fukushima-plant-chief-contemplated-ritually-disembowelling-after-reactors-exploded-kill-despair-honestly-panicking-could-afford-logically?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ENENews+%28Energy+News%29

With no plans, designated waste sits by farmshttp://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001561227

Massive Radiation Plume from Fukushima Heading Toward American West Coast According to a Scientific Reporthttp://www.globalresearch.ca/massive-radiation-plume-from-fukushima-heading-toward-american-west-coast-according-to-a-scientific-report/5401006

13Report: Worry
over nuclear fuel hitting aquifer under Fukushima plant after melting
through concrete — TV: Raging meltdown going on even as we speak… they
still don’t have control of 3 melted cores http://enenews.com/report-worry-at-fukushima-is-some-of-the-cores-melting-through-concrete-supports-to-come-in-contact-with-aquifer-tv-raging-nuclear-meltdown-going-on-even-as-we-speak-they-still-havent

A melted shoe and a farewell letter in the darkhttp://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/14/national/melted-shoe-farewell-letter-dark-fukushima-1/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=melted-shoe-farewell-letter-dark-fukushima-1

Responders cowed by explosion at reactor 3 building of Fukushima No. 1http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/14/national/responders-cowered-by-explosion-at-no-3-reactor-building/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=responders-cowered-by-explosion-at-no-3-reactor-building

Economic realities of old reactorshttp://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2014/09/14/editorials/economic-realities-of-old-reactors/

Thinking of Purchasing a Geiger Counter?http://dunrenard.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/thinking-of-purchasing-a-geiger-counter/

Expert: Plutonium
contamination of Pacific Ocean food chain from Fukushima now suspected;
“Real source of potential long term problems for humans” — Newspaper:
“Leakage of highly contaminated water into sea must be dealt with
immediately” — Gov’t: Effect on health of US public not ‘significant’http://enenews.com/expert-plutonium-contamination-pacific-ocean-food-chain-fukushima-suspected-be-underway-real-source-potential-long-term-problems-humans-newspaper-leakage-highly-contaminated-water-sea-be-dealt-imme

Contamination of Japan compared to the cleanup Criteria of Maralingahttp://nuclearexhaust.wordpress.com/2014/09/14/contamination-of-japan-compared-to-the-cleanup-criteria-of-maralinga/

15VeryFrightening”:
Journalist on very popular Japan news program found dead — Was only
person reporting about Fukushima on national TV —Chilling recent quote:
“Whatever happens, I want you to know I will never commit suicide” — No
official news coverage of death, no obituary, ‘strange’ nuclear message
appears on broadcast (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/very-frightening-journalist-very-popular-japan-news-program-found-dead-only-person-reporting-fukushima-issues-national-tv-chilling-recent-quote-happens-will-never-commit-suicide-video

Expert of Tokyo Uni “Evacuation increases cancer more than radiation”http://fukushima-diary.com/2014/09/expert-tokyo-uni-evacuation-increases-cancer-radiation/

Major road in Fukushima open for general traffichttp://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140915_12.html

Ocean hits
record high for radioactive Strontium at all 6 locations near Fukushima
reactors — Levels up to 20 times higher than reported last week —
Officials: Contamination from highly radioactive ‘debris’ is seeping into
ground and flowing out to sea http://enenews.com/record-high-strontium-90-ocean-water-every-location-destroyed-fukushima-reactors-levels-20-times-higher-reported-last-week-officials-contamination-highly-radioactive-debris-seeping-ground-flowin

Over 2 Trillion Becquerels of Radioactive Waste Flowed from Fukushima Plant into Pacific in Just 10 Monthshttp://www.globalresearch.ca/over-2-trillion-becquerels-of-radioactive-waste-flowed-from-fukushima-plant-into-pacific-in-just-10-months/5401946

Regional politics poses the final hurdle to nuclear restartshttp://country.eiu.com/article.aspx?articleid=892279473&Country=Japan&topic=Economy&subtopic=Forecast&subsubtopic=Policy+trends&u=1&pid=912265075&oid=912265075&uid=1

Japan's Secrecy Law and International Standards http://www.japanfocus.org/-Molly_M_-Hofsommer/4183#.VCVNd-5r6JU.facebook

17Medesis Pharmasolves nuclear contamination???http://dunrenard.wordpress.com/2014/09/17/medesis-pharma-solves-nuclear-contamination/Gov’t
Scientists:“Something very unusual occurring” off west coast of US,
Canada —“Unprecedented in historical record” — “Will dramatically reduce
productivity” in 6,500 sq. miles of ocean — Anomaly extends “across
Pacific to Japan” — “Who knows what will happen?”http://enenews.com/govt-scientists-very-unusual-occurring-northeast-pacific-unprecedented-historical-record-extends-all-across-pacific-japan-dramatically-reduced-</a><a>productivity-17000-square-kilometers-could-seVIDEO:
Gov’t experts highly suspicious of Japan’s claim that nobody suffered
acute radiation syndrome after Fukushima — So many workers were ill
they had to lay on cardboard after running out of beds —
Officials“repeatedly talked of death” — CBS: There were reports of people
with radiation sicknesshttp://enenews.com/video-foreign-govt-very-suspicious-japans-claim-suffered-acute-radiation-syndrome-after-fukushima-many-workers-ill-lay-cardboard-after-running-beds-officials-repeatedly-talked-death-video

18Fukushima worker fell ill, sent to hospital by air ambulance / Tepco rejects announcing the name of diseasehttp://fukushima-diary.com/2014/09/fukushima-worker-fell-ill-sent-hospital-air-ambulance-tepco-rejects-announcing-name-disease/

But is it safe? Scientist weighs homecoming risks in Fukushima http://www.fukushima-is-still-news.com/2014/09/but-is-it-safe.html

Completion of nuclear fuel plant to be delayedhttp://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140920_09.html

Japan
Times: Fukushima plant plagued by problems as radioactive material
bleeds into Pacific — Radiation level in groundwater now 25,000 times
higher than when year beganhttp://enenews.com/japan-times-fukushima-plant-plagued-problems-radioactive-material-bleeds-pacific-record-radiation-level-groundwater-25000-times-higher-when-year-began

TEPCO Announces Test Run of Improved Water Decontamination System at Fukushimahttp://en.ria.ru/world/20140920/193126802/TEPCO-Announces-Test-Run-of-Improved-Water-Decontamination-System.html

Govt. to set up new nuclear disaster relief officehttp://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140921_05.html

2126 times much radiation level detected from Japanese used car “Mitsubishi Pajero” in Russian customshttp://fukushima-diary.com/2014/09/26-times-much-radiation-level-detected-japanese-used-car-mitsubishi-pajero-russian-customs/

VIDEO:
Radioactive material now flowing toward Tokyo and contaminating their
water supply; Problems “actually only getting worse” — “Truth is no one
in world really knows how to deal with Fukushima” — Gov’t Expert: Tepco
“should give up’ making ice walls http://enenews.com/video-radioactive-material-flowing-tokyo-contaminating-water-supply-problems-actually-only-getting-worse-truth-one-world-really-deal-fukushima-govt-expert-tepco-give-making-ice-walls

22Japan joining nuclear compensation pact would clear way for U.S. cleanup aidhttp://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/22/national/japan-joining-nuclear-compensation-pact-would-clear-way-for-international-cleanup-aid/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=japan-joining-nuclear-compensation-pact-would-clear-way-for-international-cleanup-aid

Secrecy law creates ruckus over guidelineshttp://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/22/national/secrecy-law-creates-ruckus-over-guidelines/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=secrecy-law-creates-ruckus-over-guidelines

In the Wake of Fukushima (3/11): Japan’s Shift into Renewable Energyhttp://www.globalresearch.ca/in-the-wake-of-fukushima-311-japans-shift-into-renewable-energy/5403526?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=in-the-wake-of-fukushima-311-japans-shift-into-renewable-energy

Industry minister tries to convince public on need for nuclear energyhttp://www.japantoday.com/smartphone/view/politics/industry-minister-tries-to-convince-public-on-need-for-nuclear-energy?utm_campaign=jt_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jt_newsletter_2014-09-22_PM

23Gov’t
Expert: Fallout in California thousands of times higher than we expected
for several days after Fukushima explosions — ‘Orders of magnitude’
above estimates at start of crisis, even though estimations based
on Chernobyl — Article: Releases at these levels would mean “many hundreds
of kilograms” of “many other fission products!”http://enenews.com/govt-expert-fukushima-fallout-california-thousands-times-higher-expected-days-orders-magnitude-above-estimates-start-crisis-initial-predictions-based-chernobyl-article-releases-levels-many-hundr

NHK changed their TVprogram about Fukushima radioactive particle to dinosaur with no explanationhttp://fukushima-diary.com/2014/09/nhk-changed-tv-program-fukushima-radioactive-particle-dinosaur-explanation/

Tepco to start removing blast debris from reactor 1 building in late 2015http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/23/national/tepco-plans-remove-blast-debris-inside-reactor-1-building-late-15/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tepco-plans-remove-blast-debris-inside-reactor-1-building-late-15

Helplessness as reactor 2 lost cooling On verge of meltdown, operators feared evacuation of Tokyo possiblehttp://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/23/national/helplessness-reactor-2-lost-cooling/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=helplessness-reactor-2-lost-cooling

TEPCO having trouble with 'ice wall' at Fukushima planthttp://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/tepco-having-trouble-with-ice-wall-at-fukushima-plant

25Tepco to give up the preceding frozen wall and directly fill the trenches with cement insteadhttp://fukushima-diary.com/2014/09/tepco-give-preceding-frozen-wall-directly-fill-trenches-cement-instead/

Japanese right
targets liberal media A campaign of intimidation has been launched
against Japan's major liberal and moderate media outlets.http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/09/japanese-right-targets-liberal-media-shinzo-abe-2014924105723376178.html

Issues surrounding the seawall construction plans proposed by the Japanese governmenthttp://phys.org/news/2014-09-issues-seawall-japanese.html

Nuclear
Expert: We found ‘mystery’Fukushima plutonium; Why it’s there is yet to
be understood, this was not expected — US Gov’t Expert: I don’t want to
go down the rabbit hole too far… There’s speculation about plutonium fuel
and about what other fuel they were usinghttp://enenews.com/nuclear-expert-found-plutonium-fukushima-mysterious-release-fully-understood-expected-govt-expert-dont-down-rabbit-hole-speculation-about-plutonium-speculation-about-other-fuel-video

Newly
released data shows Florida hit with highest level of radioactive
material from Fukushima measured anywhere in world outside Japan — #1 out
of more than 1,500 test results —Total radioactive iodine was up to
500% of amount reported http://enenews.com/newly-released-data-shows-florida-hit-highest-level-radioactive-material-fukushima-anywhere-world-japan-1-list-1500-measurements-actual-amount-air-500-amount-reported

70% to 90% of Fukushima and Chernobyl is in Foodhttp://dunrenard.wordpress.com/2014/09/27/70-to-90-of-fukushima-and-chernobyl-is-in-food/

Fukushima Worker:
“All sorts of troubles going on in plant”; Officials won’t tell public
what’s really happening, I’m concerned for my safety — People should be
worried, it’s not under control —Employees wear disguises over fear of
retaliation — Reporter: Tour of plant "was very strange... feels
completely dead… you don’t see many people” http://enenews.com/fukushima-worker-all-sorts-troubles-going-inside-plant-officials-arent-disclosing-problems-public-im-concerned-safety-employees-wear-disguises-fear-retaliation-plant-control-people-be-worried-vi

Is the Asahi a scapegoat of nationalist media or victim of own missteps?http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/29/national/is-the-asahi-a-scapegoat-of-nationalist-media-or-victim-of-own-missteps/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=is-the-asahi-a-scapegoat-of-nationalist-media-or-victim-of-own-missteps

30Volcanoes may be next obstacle for Japan’s atomic power industryhttp://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/30/national/volcanoes-may-next-obstacle-japans-atomic-power-industry/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=volcanoes-may-next-obstacle-japans-atomic-power-industry

Fukushima chief was pleading for help from U.S. military:
“Fire’s broken out at Reactor 4… We can’t do anything…
please” — Leader turned pale after seeing flames and black smoke
near fuel pool — Worker tries to have last meal before dying and
realizes he’s unable to taste food http://enenews.com/fukushima-chief-pleaded-military-fires-broken-reactor-4-anything-please-leader-turned-pale-after-flames-black-smoke-coming-fuel-pool-worker-last-meal-before-dying-realized-longer-sense-taste-foo

Sep 30, 2014 Saturday’s eruption of Mount Ontake is likely to set back plans to
restart nuclear reactors in Kagoshima Prefecture and possibly elsewhere,
as local governments and residents start debating how safe the plants
would be in the event of a nearby volcanic eruption.
Concern is especially high in Kagoshima, home to 11 volcanos classified as active by the Meteorological Agency.
From January to March 2011, eruptions at Shintoïsme, part of the
Mount Kirishima chain, closed four railroad lines and forced the
evacuation of hundreds of residents.
Last month, the Nuclear Regulatory Authority signed off on the safety
of reactors 1 and 2 at Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Sendai plant in
Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, a major step toward their planned
restart.
The decision came after months of concern in Kagoshima about what
would happen to the plant in the event of a volcanic eruption, but
Kyushu Electric says Mount Ontake will not change its plans for Sendai.
“The scale of the eruption at Mount Ontake was small, whereas in our
safety measures we looked at the possibility of large eruptions. So we
don’t think there will be any effect on the plans to restart the Sendai
reactors,” Kyushu Electric spokesman Yuki Hirano said Tuesday.
But pressure on the utility and pro-nuclear politicians in both
Kagoshima and Tokyo to delay, or halt, the road to a Sendai restart is
growing. On Sunday, organizers said an estimated 7,500 people gathered
in the city of Kagoshima to protest the restart of the Sendai reactors,
the largest demonstration of its kind the prefecture has ever seen.
“Concern about what would happen to the Sendai reactors in the case
of a volcanic eruption is growing rapidly in the wake of the Ontake
eruption,” said Yoshitaka Mukohara, head of Antinuclear Kagoshima
Network.
Ardent pro-nuclear Kagoshima Gov. Yuichiro Ito has said the only two
local government heads that need to agree to a restart of the reactors
are himself and Satsumasendai Mayor Hideo Iwakiri, a strong advocate of
turning the reactors back on.
Since 1974, Satsumasendai, a city of about 100,000 people, has received more than ¥23 billion in nuclear power subsidies.
But a rush by Ito to restart the reactors could prove politically
difficult. There are nine other cities within 30 km of the nuclear
plant, and some of them are opposed.
Ichikikushikino, a city of 31,000 residents 10 km from the plant and
where opposition to the restart is strong, passed a resolution Tuesday
calling on Ito to seek the agreement of local governments around the
plant, especially those within 30 km of the reactors.
Source: Japan Times
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/30/national/volcanic-eruption-fires-concern-about-kagoshima-reactor-restarts/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=volcanic-eruption-fires-concern-about-kagoshima-reactor-restarts

Monday, 29 September 2014

A radioactive emissions spike taking
place during refueling from fugitive noble gas release at the
Gundremmigen nuclear plant, Bavaria, Germany. Measured as kBq/m3 against
time, in half-hourly intervals. Graph: Alfred Korblein.

29th September 2014

By Dr Ian Fairlie

When nuclear reactors are refueled, a 12-hour spike in
radioactive emissions exposes local people to levels of radioactivity
up to 500 times greater than during normal operation, writes Ian
Fairlie. The spikes may explain infant leukemia increases near nuclear
plants - but operators provide no warnings and take no measures to
reduce exposures.

On 23rd August, The Ecologist published very clear evidence of increased cancers among children living near nuclear power stations around the world, including the UK.
The story sparked much interest on social media sites, and perhaps more importantly, the article's scientific basis (published in the academic peer-reviewed scientific journal the Journal of Environmental Radioactivity) was downloaded over 500 times by scientists.
Given this level of interest and the fact that the UK government is
still pressing ahead with its bizarre plans for more nuclear stations,
we return to this matter - and examine in more detail an important
aspect which has hitherto received little attention: massive spikes in
radioactive emissions from nuclear reactors.

Refueling releases a huge radioactive emissions plume
Operating nuclear power plants (NPPs) contain large volumes of
radioactive gases at high pressures and temperatures. When their
reactors are depressurised and opened to refuel every 12-18 months,
these gases escape creating a spiked emission and a large radioactive
plume downwind of the station lasting for 12 hours or so.

However the emissions and plumes are invisible, and no advance
warning is ever given of these spikes. The public is effectively kept in
the dark about them, despite their possible health dangers.
For years, I had tried to obtain data on these spikes, but ever since
the start of the nuclear era back in 1956, governments and nuclear
power operators have been extremely loath to divulge this data.
Only annual emissions are made public and these effectively disguise
the spikes. No data is ever given on daily or hourly emissions.

Is this important? Yes: these spikes could help answer a question
which has puzzled the public and radiation protection agencies for
decades - the reason for the large increases in childhood leukemias near
NPPs all over the world.

Governments have insisted that these increased leukemias could not be
caused by radioactive emissions from NPPs as their estimated radiation
doses were ~1,000 times too low. But these don't take the time patterns
of radioactive emissions into account, and so are riddled with
uncertainties.

500 times more radiation released than during normal operation
This situation lasted until September 2011, when the International
Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) in Germany released
a press notice. For the very first time anywhere in the world, half-hourly data on releases of radioactive noble gases from an NPP were made public.
This is shown in the chart (above right) below for 7 days in September 2011. These data were from Gundremmingen NPP -in Bavaria, Southern Germany.

The chart showed that the normal emission concentration (of noble
gases) during the rest of the year was about 3 kBq/m³ (see squiggly line
along the bottom on September 19 and 20) , but during refuelling on
September 22 and 23 this sharply increased to ~700 kBq/m³ with a peak of 1,470 kBq/m³: in other words, a spike.
Primarily, the spike includes radioactive noble gases and hydrogen-3 (tritium) and smaller amounts of carbon-14 and iodine-131.
This data shows that NPPs emit much larger amounts of radioactive
noble gases during refuelling than during normal operation in the rest
of the year.

From the new data, Nuremberg physicist and statistician, Dr Alfred
Körblein, has estimated that, at its maximum value, the concentration of
noble gas emissions during refueling was 500 times greater than during
normal reactor operation. He also has estimated that about two thirds of
the NPP's annual emissions occur during refuelling.

20-100 times dose increases to local populations
In May 2011 in Germany, Green MPs entered the Bavarian State
Parliament (Landtag) for the first time where they formed the Government
in coalition with the German Socialist Party (SPD).
After several requests, the new Bavarian Government insisted that the
state nuclear regulator release non-averaged data on emissions. The
highly reluctant nuclear regulator was compelled to respond.
In other words, the Green MPs obtained the data because they had the
political power to force its release: there is a lesson here for British
environmentalists.

So could these spikes help explain leukemia increases near nuclear
plants? Yes they could. People living near nuclear power stations and
downwind from them will be exposed to high doses of radiation during
these emissions spikes - estimated to be 20-100 times higher than from
the tiny releases during the rest of the year.

In 2011, the UK National Dose Assessment Working Group published guidance on 'Short Term Releases to the Atmosphere'. This stated that "...doses
from the assessment of a single realistic short-term release are a
factor of about 20 greater than doses from the continuous release
assessment."
An older German study (Hinrichsen, 2001) indicated that these doses
could be 100 times greater. (Hinrichsen K (2001) Critical appraisal of
the meteorological basis used in General Administrative Regulations (re
dispersion coefficients for airborne releases of NPPs) See Annex D page
9: Radiation Biological Opinion (in German).

A dramatic increase in individual doses
Some scientists think that the time pattern is unimportant and only
the population dose is relevant, but this turns out not to be the case.
The reason is partly related to the duration of the release, as short
releases produce very narrow plumes (plume widths vary non-linearly as a
fractional power of the duration).

The result is that individual doses increase dramatically per Bq
emitted. Another reason is that spikes result in high concentrations of
organically bound tritium and carbon-14 in environmental materials and
humans which have longer retentions and thus higher doses.

The precise amount will depend on many factors, including source
term, proximity to the reactor, wind speed, wind direction, and the
diets and habits of local people.
Even before the new data, official sources didn't have a good handle
on these doses to local people. Official estimates of radiation doses
from NPPs already contain many uncertainties, that is, they could be
many times larger than admitted.

This was shown in the 2004 CERRIE Report,
a UK Government Committee which showed that dose estimates from
environmental releases depended on many computer models and the
assumptions they contained. The new information on radioactive spikes
adds to these uncertainties.
Therefore higher doses from emission spikes could go a long way to
explaining the increased incidences of child leukemias near NPPs shown
by the KiKK findings.

'Especially at risk are unborn children'
IPPNW Germany warned of the probable health impacts of such large
emission spikes. Dr Reinhold Thiel, a member of the German IPPNW Board
said:"Especially at risk are unborn children. When reactors are open
and releasing gases, pregnant women can incorporate much higher
concentrations of radionuclides than at other times, mainly via
respiration. Radioactive isotopes inhaled by the mother can reach the
unborn child via blood with the result that the embryo/ fetus is
contaminated by radioactive isotopes."This contamination could affect blood-forming cells in the bone
marrow resulting later in leukemia. This provides a plausible
explanation for the findings of the KiKK study published in 2008 that
under-fives living near NPPs are considerably more at risk of cancer,
particularly leukemia, than children living further away."

In the light of the German data, it is recommended half-hourly
emissions data from all UK reactors should be disclosed and that the
issue of childhood cancer increases near NPPs be re-examined by the
Government.
Nuclear operators should inform local people when they intend to open
up their reactors, and they should only do so at night-time (when most
people are indoors) and when the winds are blowing out to sea.

Dr Ian Fairlie is an independent consultant on
radioactivity in the environment. He has a degree in radiation biology
from Bart's Hospital in London and his doctoral studies at Imperial
College in London and Princeton University in the US concerned the
radiological hazards of nuclear fuel reprocessing. Ian was formerly a DEFRA civil servant on radiation risks from
nuclear power stations. From 2000 to 2004, he was head of the
Secretariat to the UK Government's CERRIE Committee on internal
radiation risks. Since retiring from Government service, he has acted as
consultant to the European Parliament, local and regional governments,
environmental NGOs, and private individuals.See alsoIan Fairlie's blog. http://www.ianfairlie.org/

Sep 30, 2014 The deadly volcanic eruption of Mount Ontake over the weekend may
strengthen the argument of activists campaigning to keep the country’s
48 reactors shut.

Japan’s atomic plants are offline for safety checks as a result of
the earthquake and tsunami that caused the meltdown of three reactors in
Fukushima more than three years ago.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority has said two reactors at a plant run
by Kyushu Electric Power Co. meet new safety standards, indicating they
are closest to restarting.

Kyushu Electric’s Sendai plant is about 50 km (31 miles) from another
active volcano called Sakurajima. It’s also not far from a cluster of
calderas, volcanic craters caused by past eruptions.

“The NRA has been criticized for not taking the elevated risk of
volcanic eruption into account,” Stephen Church, a Tokyo-based partner
at equity researcher JI Asia, said in a note Monday.
“The Ontake eruption, if it were to become major, may cause a delay in the nuclear reactor restart program.”

The NRA sees no need to change its policy toward the Sendai reactors
because it has already determined they could have withstood a known
eruption at Sakurajima 10,000 years ago that was far worse than the
Ontake event, said Masaru Kobayashi, who directs the agency’s earthquake
and tsunami risk division.

The Ontake eruption, which is in a different part of Japan from
Kyushu, won’t cause changes to safety measures for the Sendai units,
Kyushu Electric spokesman Yuki Hirano said by phone.

Activists who oppose the Sendai reactor restarts had earlier cited
volcano risk when the NRA was assessing safety at the facility.

Kyushu Electric argued to the NRA it could use seismic sensors and
global positioning technology to predict eruptions that may threaten its
reactors. The NRA approved the safety report on Sept. 10.

Seismologists, however, were unable to forecast the Saturday eruption
at Ontake, which killed at least 31 people, mostly hikers in the area
who were allowed onto the mountain as sensors didn’t indicate any threat
from volcanic activity.

“The event has damaged NRA’s arguments about being able to predict
eruptions,” Aileen Mioko Smith, director of the Kyoto-based anti-nuclear
group Green Action, said in an email. “They said GPS monitoring could
do it. In the case of Ontake, it could not.”

With newspaper opinion polls showing the majority of Japan’s public
against nuclear plant restarts, the Ontake eruption may further bolster
opposition as there are 110 active volcanoes scattered throughout the
country.

Hokkaido Electric Power Co.’s Tomari plant in the far north, which
has applied for NRA safety checks at three reactors, is also near an
active caldera, Charles Connor, a geophysicist specializing in volcanoes
at the University of South Florida, said by phone.

Larger volcanic eruptions can be predicted before they occur, which
would give plant operators some time to prepare, said Connor.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters Sunday that he
does not expect the Ontake eruption to have any impact on nuclear
restarts.

Still, the proximity of Sakurajima to the Sendai plant has been
raised as an issue by those that don’t support restarts, Tom O’Sullivan,
the founder of Tokyo-based energy consultant Mathyos, said by phone. “I
think it casts a question mark over the restarts yet again.”